Book Review: Portrait in Sepia

Isabel Allende's "Portrait in Sepia" is one of the most beautiful novels I've ever read. Allende has woven together a stunning tale of love and desire, tragedy and loss, family and betrayal, over three generations of a prominent Chilean family. Her writing is incredibly detailed and she manages to fill in every character's personality so vividly and colorfully, that its as if they're brought to life. Furthermore, she manages to discuss so many important issues in the backdrop of the tale, including Chile's brutal political history, the difficulties immigrants faced in San Francisco during the Gold Rush era, and the many intricacies of being a female during this time.

The story revolves around Aurora del Valle, illegitimate daughter of Matías Rodríguez de Santa Cruz and Lynn Sommers, granddaughter of Eliza Sommers, Tao Chi'en, and Paulina del Valle, and adopted daughter of Sevaro del Valle. Aurora has a missing gap in her memory: that of her first five years of life, and the story revolves around her reconstruction of that gap and the horrific events that transpired that led to the creation of the gap. As the story progresses, each character's background and personality is explored thoroughly and woven intricately and seamlessly into the storylines of the other characters. Beautiful Lynn Sommers, daughter of Eliza Sommers and Tao Chi'en, has the love of two men; the noble, handsome Sevaro del Valle and the wealthy, charismatic but cocky Matías Rodríguez de Santa Cruz (son of Paulina del Valle and Feliciano Rodríguez de Santa Cruz). Lynn Sommers falls irrevocably in love with Matías, and Sevaro is forced to watch quietly as his cousin Matías tricks her into bed, impregnates her, and then claims no connection to her or her unborn child. Lynn dies soon after giving birth, and Sevaro claims the baby girl as his own, in order to give her legitimacy, but he too leaves the infant to join the brutal war in Chile. Aurora is raised by her doting grandfather, Tao Chi'en, and her hardworking grandmother, Eliza Sommers until the age of 5, when she is dropped off on the doorstep of Paulina del Valle by Eliza, with no explanation other than that Tao Chi'en had passed away and Eliza wanted to return her beloved husband's body to his homeland. Between the grandmothers, they agree that Eliza should never meet Aurora again, and it would best if they could erase any memory of her early years with her maternal grandparents to avoid confusion. The rest of the novel traces Aurora's childhood, adolescence and adulthood, under the indulging wings of her grandmother. As she grows older, she grows more and more curious of the blaring gap in her memory and the black demons that plague her dreams, and yet life and the constant political turbulence of the time distract her from fully understanding it. Years later, when she finally unfolds the truth of her past and the meaning behind the black figures that haunt her dreams, it offers her both relief and overwhelming sadness, as well as a sense of closure to the mystery that has always surrounded the memory of her childhood.

“Memory is fiction. We select the brightest and the darkest, ignoring what we are ashamed of, and so embroider the broad tapestry of our lives.” 

"Portrait in Sepia" is truly a spectacular novel and I would highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. I thoroughly enjoyed every last sentence in this book and hope that everyone that reads it does so as well. The detail is truly exquisite, as is Allende's storytelling and writing.